The Babysitter
by pillar-of-salt
Summary: Elizabeth becomes Chloe Whitman's babysitter during a slow day at the office.


_A/N: I wrote this after 3.16 but never got around to posting it. Enjoy!_

* * *

Someone tapped lightly on her office door. "Come in," Elizabeth called. The door opened slowly, and then a tiny, curly head peeked around it at a height far below the doorknob.

"Auntie Bizbeth," Chloe whispered conspiratorially.

"Well hello there, Miss Chloe!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Come here! How did you get away from your daddy, huh?" She wheeled away from her desk and held her arms out for Chloe.

The small girl ran up to her desk and clambered onto her lap. "I wanted to play with you."

"Yeah? What do you want to play, baby?" She bounced her on her lap, hugging her close. Elizabeth could never resist this cutie.

"Hide and seek?"

"Oh, I _love_ hide and seek." Elizabeth placed the girl on the floor and said, "I'll count to ten, and you hide in this room, okay?"

"No peeking!" Chloe warned as she ran off.

"One...Two...Three…"

* * *

"Ma'am, I just wanted to check with you about the… Ma'am?" Jay looked around the office, empty even though Blake had told him the Secretary was in.

Suddenly Elizabeth's blonde head emerged from behind the back of the couch. "Oh, hey, Jay."

"Uh…"

Elizabeth began wiggling out of the tight space.

"Found you!" Chloe shrieked from inside the in-office washroom, bolting past her dad and launching herself at Elizabeth with a delighted laugh. Elizabeth was still crouched on the floor, and the force of Chloe's tiny body put the Secretary of State flat on her back.

"Yes you did!" Elizabeth exclaimed, tickling Chloe and making the small girl giggle even harder.

" _Chloe!_ " Jay said, scandalized, and ignored by everyone in the room. His daughter had just made an impromptu babysitter of the most powerful diplomat in the world right under his nose. And they were both... having a great time. He watched as his daughter cuddled the Secretary affectionately. Who would've seen this coming?

"Hi, daddy." Chloe said, now wrapped around the Secretary's back as the woman struggled to get to her feet.

"Chloe, let's let the Secretary get back to work, okay?" He turned to Elizabeth in embarrassment. "Ma'am I am so sorry."

"Aww, c'mon dad, we were having fun!" Elizabeth said, bouncing Chloe on her back and making her laugh. "Did you have an update for me on the Russia situation?" She moved back to her desk, rearranging Chloe so that she could sit on her lap while still allowing Elizabeth to have access to all the work from which she had taken a fun fifteen minute break.

"I just came to tell you that Nadine and I are working on the inducements package now and we think it'll be promising."

"Good to hear it. Thanks for the update, Jay."

"No problem, ma'am, uh - " he gestured toward his daughter, who was currently trying to climbing all over the office chair with no regard to Elizabeth being in between, "I can take her off your hands. I don't even know how she slipped past me in the first place - we were in my office and I went to get more coffee, and then she was in Matt's office, so I _thought_ she would be okay but clearly he's not very good at watching children, which I have definitely made a note of - "

"Jay."

"Yes ma'am?"

"Don't even worry about her. We're having a great time. I still have some of her coloring books in my desk -" and just to prove it, Elizabeth pulled out a few from her bottom desk drawer and a packet of crayons, making Chloe squeal delightedly, "and nothing but reports to read and sign off on for the rest of the day. We'll be fine, okay? Get back to work."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you for babysitting." Jay said, still feeling awkward about the whole thing. "Bye, Chloe. Be good for the Secretary, okay?"

Chloe, already deeply involved in her coloring, did not respond.

"Wait, Jay?" Elizabeth called.

He turned around. "Yes ma'am?"

" _Matt_ , really?" She said, giving him an odd look. "You thought he was the best person to watch your daughter?"

Jay shrugged helplessly. "Literally _everyone else_ was busy or gone."

"Oh, I see. So I wasn't even a last choice." Elizabeth said, feigning affront. "I wasn't even a choice at all."

"You were supposed to be busy." He pointed out.

She paused. "Fair enough. Back to work."

Once Jay left, Elizabeth readjusted Chloe on her lap so that she could reach around her for the next report on the pile. "Okay, Miss Chloe, let's get to work, hmm?" She kissed the top of her head and bounced her absentmindedly.

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe, too fidgety to sit and color any longer, wriggled off of Elizabeth's lap and shot out the door.

"Wait - Chloe!" Elizabeth called. She'd forgotten how much energy toddlers could pack into their little bodies. Through the open doorway Elizabeth saw the little girl wheel right back around and charge into her office just as fast as she'd tried to leave it. "You should stay in here, okay? We don't want to lose you out there. Your daddy would be very mad at me."

"Okay." She said easily. She wandered around the space for a little while, exploring all the various corners of Elizabeth's office. Elizabeth felt reassured that Chloe didn't require her full attention and settled back to her report.

Chloe reached up on tiptoes to open the door to Elizabeth's office closet, wandering inside to investigate its contents, then coming back out again with a vibrant smile. "Clothes?!"

Elizabeth looked up. "Sure, baby."

Chloe ran back inside, and Elizabeth could hear the soft thud of several clothing hangers - probably with the clothes still on them - dropping to the floor. She made a note to tell Blake to have all the wrinkles steamed out of them later. Chloe emerged swathed a floor-length gown that Elizabeth had worn to a state dinner last week - the tiny girl was drowning in it.

Elizabeth burst out laughing. "Oh sweetheart you look so pretty! Let me take a picture and send it to your daddy."

Elizabeth pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of her, and not two seconds later Chloe was hopping around the room, holding the dress up with her hands as she tripped over the long train of fabric. Elizabeth sent the photo to Jay.

He responded, _Isn't that a two-thousand dollar dress?_ He sent another text. _Don't tell Blake about this. He'll drop my daughter off at the fire station._

Elizabeth chuckled to herself. He wasn't wrong. Ruined couture would give Blake a coronary. Blake liked kids, but he hated mess. It was quite a paradox.

Jay texted her again. _Sent it to Abby. She'll get a kick out of this._

Chloe hopped, skipped, and jumped around the office in her state dinner gown as Elizabeth wrestled her way through a fossil fuels report - the last one of the day - but the girl's energy was definitely flagging. It was probably way past her nap time.

Sure enough, just as Elizabeth was putting her signature on the document Chloe climbed onto the couch and promptly fell asleep. The top of the gown hung off of her legs and trailed to the floor like a very long train.

Elizabeth shut down her computer and gathered up her things to go home. Then she scooped up Chloe, untangling her from the dress, and left her office with the sleeping toddler in her arms.

She passed Blake's desk on her way out. "Blake, call my motorcade please." She said. She headed toward Jay's office and pretended not to notice the look of shocked confusion on Blake's face.

Jay was working at his desk when she shouldered her way through the glass door. He got up right away, and Elizabeth transferred the sleeping girl into his arms.

"She was very good today." Elizabeth whispered, kissing Chloe's curly head. "Bring her back to me real soon, okay?"

Jay breathed a sigh of relief. Elizabeth wondered if it was because Chloe had behaved herself, or because Elizabeth had managed to give her back in one piece. "Thank you, ma'am," Jay said, "You're a lifesaver."

"Anytime, Jay. Anytime."

* * *

 _Thanks for reading!_


End file.
